


It Must Be Dust

by ClarenceJ



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/M, Fever, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Battle of Five Armies, Sickfic, sick cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-13
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-08-01 15:22:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16287059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClarenceJ/pseuds/ClarenceJ
Summary: The reader is working on the reparations of Erebor when she suddenly comes down with a nasty cold that leaves her sick with Fili.





	It Must Be Dust

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own The Hobbit or its characters.
> 
> Hi everyone! Thank you so much for reading my story! If you really enjoy this then send some comments and kudos this way to tell me! I also have some other works if you're into all of the angst that I put into this one, and I really hope that you enjoy my work.  
> Thanks again!

            The sun broke over the horizon and its light poured in the through the windows. Well, the makeshift light shafts that went all the way around the mountain. Over the past weeks you learned that dwarves didn’t live in dirty caves or smelly tunnels, they lived in clean rooms with grand architecture. The one thing it truly was though, especially living under a mountain, was damp. You had gotten sick as soon as you and Fili had picked your rooms. It was considered indecent to stay in the same chambers as each other even though you were courting (and not married like tradition required), but you were determined to never have to do the “walk of shame” back to your own room. So why not just stay in his?

            You had started to get a sore throat but just passed it off as due to the dust or allergies acting up. You were helping out Bofur that day and he kept looking at you funny as you rubbed your throat and shut your eyes that felt like there was salt water in them.

           “Are you alright there lass?” he had asked in a chipper tone. His worry was nice the first ten times but now is starting to drive you up the wall!

           “Oh yeah!” you replied, “I’m still fit as a fiddle. I told you it’s just a little sore throat. It's no big deal Bofur. I’d be careful of the dust if I were you because you wouldn’t want to catch something from all of this stuff.” Bofur had started laughing so hard at that his face turned red and tears gathered in his eyes.

           “Lass I’m a miner! I‘ve breathed in more dust than you could ever imagine!” he laughed merrily. “Just don’t go getting sick on us! We still need loads of your help!” You thought about it and then brushed it off because they were right. They needed your help on the journey and they still needed your help now. There was no time for getting sick!

            The next day was a runny nose and stuffy head, but you are able to get a sore throat from a runny nose, so you had just brushed it off while working with Balin in the library.

           “Lass,” he tried to catch your attention, but your ears were so muffled that it was next to impossible. “Y/N!” he called louder that time. You turned your head and stared at him through the fog in your head and tried to read his lips. _‘Get foam? OH! Go home!’_ you realized with a start. You didn’t need to go home! You were fine helping out and they couldn’t afford for you to be sick, so you waved Balin off.

           “It’s just from the dust. I told Bofur but he didn’t believe me, just make sure you don’t get so sick working with all these old books,” you tell him with a chuckle and he smiles at you gently.

           “That’s very sweet dearie, but we dwarves are made to be sturdy. We’re made to live under the mountains and not become ill,” he explained gently. “You should go home and get some rest,” he said to you.

           “Right after I’m done with working today then I’ll go back to my room. Please just let me stay this time. I want to help, I really, really do!” you had begged.

            What on earth had you been thinking? You woke up that night with Fili leaning over you as you thrashed the covers off and whimpered about the cold.

           “Sweetheart, what’s wrong? What ails you?” he asks tenderly.

           “It’s so cold!” you exclaim through the haze. You're shivering violently and start to cry from the discomfort in your whole body. Everywhere aches and you just want to get some sleep!

           “Let me feel your forehead love, then you can sleep,” Fili tries to soothe you but you only want him to cuddle next to you while you hope it passes. _‘Did I say that out loud?’_ you wonder briefly before a hand runs across your sensitive forehead causing your whole body to shiver and your skin to prickle with the chill.

           “I have to get Oin, but I will be right back,” he tells you urgently, placing a quick kiss to your forehead, causing you to shiver from the coolness of his lips.

            Time passes slowly for you as you writhe on the bed with your head spinning and every second feeling like an hour. You try to close your eyes and go back to sleep but you only succeed in keeping them closed for a few seconds before your head starts to spin again. Your clothes hurt your skin, the fire hurts your eyes and you can’t stop shivering. It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes, but it was misery that felt like it had gone on for a lifetime by the time Oin arrives with his potions and elixirs.

           “Oh my,” he says when he first takes in your shaking form in the middle of the bed. You're covered in sweat and have pulled up all of the covers to try to keep warm. He walks forward and in your hazy vision a hand reaches out at you and you whimper and hope his hand will go away. You pull your head side to side, trying to shake him away. The next thing you know, Fili is right there whispering in your ear and stroking your hair telling you to try to relax and keep still. Oin feels along your face, ignoring the sweat and your cries of delirium at the fever dream.

            “She has a high fever that needs to be treated, but besides what I have for the fever, I don’t think we have anything to treat the rest of her symptoms,” he tells Fili quietly. They try to be quiet but you can still hear them just fine.

            “Let’s still do what we can for her,” Fili tells him and Oin nods along. Oin digs in his bag for a moment before he hands Fili something for your fever as he climbs back into bed with you. You curl on to his lap hoping he can make it go away by simply cuddling you and giving you unconditional love but your body still racks with shivers.

            “Can you drink this for me Y/N?” he asks you softly. The sounds though are loud and they make you feel confused and hurt so you whimper and wine into his side out of protest. “Shhh love, it’ll be alright, I just need you to drink this for me.”

             He puts a glass vial to your lips and pours some kind of sludge into your mouth. You swallow it thickly and Fili hugs you closely, stroking your hair, kissing your forehead, and within a few minutes the cold begins to fade away and you fall into a restless, dreamless sleep without even realizing. It's a light sleep keeping you on the edge of waking but falling back under through the night.

             A few hours later you wake up blearily and confused, cold again and you start to whimper at the pain and discomfort of it all. You can't seem to find your bearings as the room spins around you. Something cold is placed on your forehead and it drips down your face and makes you shudder, sucking in a sharp breath and turning your expression to a grimace that feels foreign on your face. You turn your head and see Fili still sitting on a big chair next to the bed from your hazy memory.

             “Shhh, try to go back to sleep love,” Fili whispers to you but all you wish for at the moment is to not feel so bad. His hand rests on your cheek while the other replaces the towel on your head.

             “Fee,” you whine pitifully, hoping he can do anything to help you. His expression crumbles at your cry and he puts the rag on the bedside table. He scoops you up in his arms as if it will magically chase away the sickness by using his love but it only causes you to whimper more. You rest your too warm face on his shoulder and try to relax into his touch but the feeling of your clothes rubbing against your skin might as well be sandpaper. The feeling makes you want to crawl out of your skin and wiggle in his grasp.

              Fili looks at you with concern at your inability to stay still even for a moment. “I know, I know. Some sleep will make it better, love. Here, I have more medicine for you to take." He reaches to the bedside table and grabs a small vile with the same looking sludge that he gave you before. "Come on love, take it. It'll help you go to sleep and you’ll be back to normal in no time.” You swallow the bitter, thick medicine with another grimace and feel the effects pulling at your fingers and your chest almost immediately. You cuddle up to him with the thick sheets around your shoulders and close your eyes. Sleep comes to you instantly.

              The next time you wake up, the room is flooded with light and Kili is sitting in the chair next to the bed reading a book. You shift in the bed unsure why you're so sticky, almost as if you went to bed after a hard workout and didn't bother to shower off the grime. Your motion rouses Kili's attention as he sees the movement his periphery. 

             “Hey there,” Kili says with a small smile as he looks at you with concern. He sits on the edge of the chair and grabs your hand in his, stroking the back of it in little motions that are gentle and firm at the same time.

             “Hi,” you answer. “Um. . . where's Fili?” You groan at the stiffness in your joints and the tightness in your chest. Your eyelids are still heavy, telling you that your body is begging for more sleep.

              Kili gives a little smile before responding, “He should be getting some sleep right now. He stayed up all night, the first night, taking care of you until the fever came down. He was away when it came back. Thorin nearly banned him from the room when he wouldn't calm down. Do you feel any better now?”

             “Yeah. I’m not as cold, but um. . .I don’t really remember last night,” you say slowly and Kili jumps in to interrupt.

             “Well, you had a very high fever. It's been well over a full day since you were last awake." You widen your eyes at hearing that. ' _It only felt like a few minutes'_ you think in shock. "It was apparently one of the worst fevers Oin has seen in a long while. It practically burned you up with it but I'm glad it didn't and I’m glad you’re better. I wouldn’t try to remember earlier though,” he says as he gives your shoulder a gentle nudge. "We've been taking shifts waiting for you to wake up again. If you want to go back to sleep Bofur should be in soon to take care of you, only if you need it of course," he explains quickly and I widen my eyes. 

             "You've been taking shifts to watch me?" I ask and he nods his head emphatically. 

             "You were very ill Y/n. Fili nearly shook you apart trying to get you to wake up but you were truly very very ill. We couldn't wake you even for a moment, so Oin told us we had to wait for you to get better on your own," he tells you wearing an uncharacteristic frown. "I'm going to tell everyone that you're awake now. I'll be back soon." You nod your head and wait until he's out of the room before shooting out of bed to find Fili.

              You check his chambers and when you don't find him there you decide to go see how the progress of the library is going. You grab a blanket from Fili's trunk and walk down there, opening the doors to the library and see a most unusual sight. Fili hunched over trying to read some worn numbers on an elvish medicine book and having little to no luck by the way he was swearing.

             “So how is it going?” you tease lightly. His head snaps up and he walks briskly to embrace you. The warmth of his body bleeds through your many layers. 

             “Y/N!” he breathes into your hair and hugs you as tightly as he dares. “I've been trying to find something in these books to help you. I was so worried love! What are you doing up so soon? You should still be resting! That fever was nothing to take lightly,” he worries over you, cupping your face, running his hands through your tangled hair to help you straighten it out.

             “I know, I know, but I’m still going to be useful and try to help you,” you tell him gently. “Come on, if you want to help me then let me show you how to research this properly.” You smile at him and bump into his arm playfully. You’ll rest later, but right now you want to spend your time with him. You have all night to spend in his arms.


End file.
